Catheters for the introduction or removal of fluids may be located in various venous locations and cavities throughout the body for introduction of fluids to the body or removal of fluids from the body. Such catheterization may be performed by using a single catheter having multiple lumens. A typical example of a multiple lumen catheter is a dual lumen catheter assembly in which one lumen introduces fluid and the other lumen removes fluid. An example of such a dual lumen catheter assembly is the ASH SPLIT-CATH® catheter.
Generally, to insert any catheter into a blood vessel, the vessel is identified by aspiration with a long hollow needle in accordance with the well known Seldinger technique. When blood enters a syringe attached to the needle, indicating that the vessel has been found, a thin guidewire is then introduced, typically through a syringe needle or other introducer device into the interior of the vessel. The introducer device is then removed, leaving the guidewire within the vessel. The guidewire projects beyond the surface of the skin. At this point, several options are available to a physician for catheter placement. The simplest is to pass a catheter into the vessel directly over the guidewire. The guidewire is then removed, leaving the catheter in position within the vessel. However, this technique is only possible in cases where the catheter (for example, a small diameter dual lumen catheter) is of a relatively small diameter, made of a stiff material, and not significantly larger than the guidewire. If the catheter to be inserted is significantly larger than the guidewire, a dilator device is passed over the guidewire to enlarge the opening in the vessel. The catheter is then passed over the guidewire into the vessel, and the guidewire and dilator are then removed, leaving the catheter in position within the vessel.
For chronic catheterization, in which the catheter is intended to remain inside the patient for an extended period of time, such as for weeks or even months, it is typically desired to subcutaneously tunnel the catheter into the patient using various tunneling techniques. The catheter is typically tunneled into the patient prior to inserting the catheter into the patient's vein. However, there may be times when it is more advantageous, due to such things as the patient or the implanting surgeon's skill, to perform the tunneling after the catheter is implanted in the patient. For some catheters, though, such as multiple lumen catheters with a hub and with bonded luers on the proximal ends of the catheters, it is impractical to perform the tunneling after the catheter is installed in the patient. It would be beneficial to provide a catheter assembly that provides a surgeon with alternative installation procedures for instaling the catheter that better suit either the patient's needs or the surgeon's skills.
Further, for chronically installed catheters, portions of the catheter external to the patient occasionally fail, such as for instance, by leaking and/or by the introduction of foreign particles such as dirt, bacteria, and the like into the catheter. Such failures include worn or broken clamps or broken luers. In order to correct these problems, it is presently necessary to remove the entire catheter from the patient, causing additional trauma and risking additional medical problems to the patient. It would be beneficial to provide a catheter in which the proximal portion of the catheter may be removed and replaced without disturbing the distal portion of the catheter inside the patient.